Category: Uncategorized
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Supermarine Swift FR.5 – Part Five – NATO Eye
Call me suspicious and cynical if you wish – I mean a person like you would…but I suspect that the ranks of photo reconnaissance aircraft are generally made up of fighter failures. They are either not fast enough, nimble enough, or well-enough armed to succeed on the battlefield, and are relegated to flying above it…
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Supermarine Swift FR.5 – Part One – A Christmas Belle
Yes, I did get this for Christmas, and yes, I did select it myself. I know how to operate a holiday… This is a new Airfix kit – meaning that the plastic is a perfect consistency, the mouldings are accurate, and the instruction book is detailed enough to cope with even weird parts. There will…
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Take It Seriously
No joking. Take your modelling seriously. You’ll benefit – we’ll all benefit. My scale modelling club is comprised of a bunch of jokers – we bounce one-liners and corny Dad jokes off one another at every session. There is no decorum in the main room, and precious little more in the library and the kitchen.…
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The Gantze Megillah
When someone recalls the entire service history about something of which they have made a plastic model kit. It is a charming procedure, roughly as much fun as a prostate examination. It is not a surprise, considering the detail some modellers go to with their kits. You can buy magazines that show you how to…
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Classic Without Being Classy
The decision to squeeze yet another year out of an old mould must be agony for the planners in a big scale model factory. But of course it can be eased by the realisation that the price for the old tat will be paid in new money. There will be the cost of new box…
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Should Tiny Models Have Lighter Paints?
I don’t know, but I intend to experiment. Most of my aircraft building is in 1:72 scale, with the occasional foray into 1:48 when someone donates a kit to me. I tend to use lacquer paints and keep the colours strong and pure. The fact that this renders the models somewhat toy-like is a positive…
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Airbus 320-200 – Part Three – Safely Flying
I was going to title the wrap-up post ” Safely Landed “, but then I realised that the gear was up… At the outset I must admit this kit surprised me. I expected little, but got a lot. There have been moments, but these were predictable, and the difficulties were surmounted. Difficulties? Not the fit…
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Spend Half Your Time Learning How To Do It Right
Then spend the rest learning how to recover when it goes wrong. All kits have flaws…if not in the box, then in the buyer. Something will go awry in the build. If you are fortunate it will be small and early, and you can fix it before you go on. These are the times that…
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Who Judges The Fantasy Model?
And how do they do it? Okay, if you are tasked with reproducing a model of a Willy Ley space ship as seen on a 1950’s Disneyland show, it is still fantasy – but the responsibility for the imagination has been taken out of your hands. Ley and Disney are the ones setting the pace…
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The Old Kid Modeller
As a young kid, your scale model building is limited by one thing: money. You have little of it and are largely dependent upon birthdays and Christmas to supply you with your kits. You may have desires, but you recognise that you’re going to be building whatever you are given. If you are articulate and…
